"Experience in ED"

My adult child received a crush injury at work recently and went to the hospital ED to be reviewed. The nurse on duty advised them that it was just a bit bruised, but was okay and did not need x-raying. The nurse said if it was no better in a couple of days to come back. After a sleepless night, my child went back on the next morning and requested an x-ray. The same nurse was on duty and advised them that they needed to see a GP to get a referral. So, then they had to make a GP appointment for an X-ray - and then went back to the hospital to get an x-ray. The first image showed that indeed it was fractured. So, they went back to ED for review and they told them that they were too busy and that they should come back later.

They returned after lunch and was advised that they were still very busy and that they should wait. An extensive wait was experienced, and even after me asking if my child could return to work but maintain their place in the 'queue' and that they call them when it was time (they work close by), I was told that if they left that they would then have to start the whole process all over again. After two hours they were finally seen, and following a closer review of the x-ray images, discovered that they had fractured the tip of their finger in three places, with one of the fractures breaking through the nail bed and the nail resulting in an open fracture. They were then advised that they would need surgery in Perth to repair the damage. This required a trip to Perth in the morning for surgery and then a further trip to Perth on another morning for hand therapy.

What was the most disappointing, was that if they had received the X-ray initially, then it could have been addressed earlier, but instead, had to wait an additional 24 hours. I just wish that they had managed it better in the first place and not just passed it off as a bruising!